Rachel Wayne and the League of Shadows
by Lady Ashla Lord Bogen
Summary: I was cleaning out my files and I came across this little gem. Rachel Wayne is the baby of the League of Shadows. Henri considers her a daughter, Barsad a sister, and Talia (and Bane) a lover. I don't own Batman. If I get enough interest, I will continue this.


Rachel Wayne smirked as she entered the monastery quietly. Her hair fluttered wildly around her as she closed the door behind her and was met with a thin ribbon of cold sharp steel to her neck. Rachel raised her arms to touch her head and turned around slowly, not making any attempt to hide her weapons belt. Rachel heard a shocked breath and the sword was abruptly sheathed. Rachel was crushed up against a strong chest and hugged tightly. "Barsad?" Rachel murmured, shocked at her brother's display of emotion.

"We thought you were dead sister. No one has seen you in months."

"Robin decided I needed vacation. I decided not to argue with him."

"They're in the trial room, little sister." Rachel nodded and twisted out of his arms as she reached for her _hamata_ and pulled it on, slipping out of the rags she was wearing. Rachel walked silently to the trial room, avoiding the few Shadows that walked the hallways. Rachel rolled out of the shadows, landing like a spider at Henri's feet.

"Miss me?" She asked with a smirk on her face as she stood up at loose attention. Henri was quick to react and landed a swat on Rachel's behind, "only a little bit Miss Potter" newbies or business deal then "this is an old trainee of mine. She works in Gotham City and is Batwoman. She also hasn't been home in 4, almost 5 years. If she hadn't come by tomorrow I would've had a Shadow come and collect her."

"In my defense, I was 16 at the time and coming get away without raising suspicion." Definitely newbies then, Henri wouldn't divulge as much information to a business partner. The Shadows that had been there at the time snickered at the memory. Rachel looked slightly abashed and blushed slightly. The moment was over once Henri raised his blade and started to attack Rachel. With a lightning quick movement Rachel flipped behind a Shadow, Talia, and drew her _wakizashi_, a single edged short blade, perfect for a petite woman like Rachel. The maneuver was unfamiliar to the Shadows so Rachel had time to slip on her gauntlets and tighten them before slipping into the shadows. The League couldn't see her for a while, until 2 batarangs flew out and pinned Henri to the wall. "Dammit Rachel! You had to?!" Rachel snickered and put a mild shock through the cord. Not enough to hurt, just enough to irritate. The girl definitely had it down to a science.

"At least I didn't use the fear toxin cord." She growled from shadows, Batwoman was in the house. The younger shadows shivered they heard of the toxin. After it had been experimented on by many Gothamites, rumor had it Rachel been one, the League used it to cleanse Arkham Asylum. The creator of the toxin had been executed by Henri personally. There was more to the story the trainees were sure, but they weren't going to ask. "I yield Rachel." Henri called. Rachel stepped out of the shadows and handed Talia her blade back with a polite bow. Rachel pulled out one of the batarangs and let Henri fall to the ground "what an interesting position Henri." Rachel said, her eyes twinkling madly as she took the other batarang out of wall and placed it in her belt. Henry stood up as Rachel seemed to collapse, her body a slinky and caught her in his arms. The older Shadows shared a glance, Rachel shouldn't been caught by that. She was hiding something again.

"I don't think she's been eating or sleeping again. The city's taken a toll on her." Henry said as he carried her to a small pallet near his seat. Talia looked over at his sleeping lover with concern. She picked up a few nasty injuries over the bond, but Rachel was an expert at blocking pretty much everything out. She said it was a distraction. Talia thought it was a way for Rachel to keep some control over her life. Rachel wasn't going to be leaving her sight for a long time. Once the drill was over, the students left to tend to their wounds and rest. The majority of the Shadows left as well after kissing Rachel on the forehead, or touching her shoulder gently. Rachel was the baby of the shadows, they'd seen at her best and her worst. Unknown to Rachel, Robin had emailed encrypted files to Henri about Rachel; what she had been doing, injuries, eating habits, sleeping habits, and party she had been too. Once all the shadows were out of the room except for Talia, Bane, and Henri, Henri produced the antidote, administered it to Rachel and murmured to Talia and Bane "take care of your Third" before he left the room. Bane gently picked up the petite woman as she stirred gently. Talia comfortingly ran to her fingers through Rachel's dark, sleek hair and Rachel fell back asleep. Bane and Talia exchanged a look, their Rachel is easy to deal with if you knew her for a long time. The Shadows had taken Rachel in when she was eight, after her adoptive parents were killed in the streets like animals. They cared for her and trained her to be a ninja. Talia and Bane went with Rachel when her parents murderer was on trial again. They watch Joe Schill be assassinated by one of Falcone's men. They watched Rachel reunite with an old friend, only for that friend to turn around and literally slap her in the face. They watched Rachel go into the lion's den and make a deal with Falcone, one that got drugs away from children, prostitutes off the streets, and domestic violence and abuse down to almost nothing. She got to thank Falcone for killing her parents murderer, and quoted one of his-and her favorite poems "is all that we see but a dream within a dream?" and leave just as quickly as she had come. They watched her patrol Gotham City nightly and become more and more weary. They were inordinately proud of their lover and extraordinarily overprotective of her. She was theirs and they were hers.

Poe, Edgar Allen "a dream within a dream"

16 may 2013


End file.
